Turbine.



PATENTED DB0. 3, 1907.

TURBINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1o, 1907.

C. P. STEINMETZ.

/rm/ervtor: "C arles/3.3 ,by

emmet'z, 2 wat@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE` CnAnLEs r. srEiNMErz, or soi-IENECTADY, NEW YORK, assiettes 'ro cENnr \.L ELECTRIC I COMPANY, 'A CORPORATION or new ,if-oak.

TURBINE.

Be it known that l, CHARLES I. STEIN- METZ, a citizen Of'the'UnitediStates, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, AState of New York, have invented certain the wheels arerot'ating in a fluidfb'ody con taining .more or less moisture. O ther'things being, equal the greater the moisture of the vsteam or other fluidbody in'which the wheels rotate the greater the rotation loss'.

The obj ect of my invention is to improve' the efliciency of'elasticfluid turbines of the -type above referred to bydecre-asing Athe ro'- tation losses.l More specifically, I'utilize the leaka e .fluid from stage to stage to perform usefiwork. by causing. it to maintaina. body of dry orl superheated Viiuid at the sides of the rotating wheelsv and therefore decrease the resistance j to rotation.`

In carrying out my inventionV in one of its-- simplest forms ya casing is provided in which the bucket Wheels rotate lwith suitable separators between. In the specific embodiment of theinvention the casing is divided by diaphragme intowheel compartment-sor stages, each containing a Wheel havin@f one, two or more .rows of;"buclfets Carried the rotating members .are of necessity small clearances to prevent. the parts from seizing.

It is to be noted inzthis connectionthat 'the packing sleeves have to be so located that they are not. readily accessible-for 'the purposeof adjustment.

iary chambers v.are-walls which'closelyT conby the dia-y phragms and oloselysurroundingthe 'shaft' or the wheel hubs as the case may be are packingsleeves.; Between the sleeves and A'with niulti-stage turbines having a single cas Specification of Letters Patent.

Application iiled June 1U. 19Q77- i form to the shape of the lwheelwebs and may also tothe Whole wheel. form apartroffthe diaphragm and' casing struc-ture butreferablyon accountl of de'I creased cost o manufacture and the reduc- Th'ese walls may f Patented Dec. e, 1907.

MNO. 378.083.

tion in weight, especially in large machines, are made of relatively thin sheet met al plates. Into the auxiliary Chambers thus formed the leakage from one stage packing to another passes and by reason of the drop in pressure, the steam is superheated or at least made dry. The lates also serve to prevent the motive iiuid exhausting from the bucket wheels-from reacting on the wheel andopposing its rotation. I prefer to make these chambers as small aspossible consistent with the free running of the wheel and at the same time large enoughto pass the steam leaking through the clearances. The s ace between the wheel and the. lates or wa s will generally be somewhat onger in a large machine than in 'a small machine. After the steam passes through the auxiliary chambers on the sides ofthe wheels it passes to the main wheel chambers and thence to the stage'nozzles or exhaust as the case may be. In the first stage I may admit steamfto the chambers at the pressure of admission and therefore rior to its passing through any of the nozz es or other discharging devices. In or der that the. steaml may act equally or substantially so on both sides -of the wheels the webs thereof are provided with one, two or more openings or passagesthrou'gh which the leakagesteam asses to insure abody of. dry orsuperheatec steam on both sides of the wheel webs. In additionl to the auxiliary chambers referred to, are main chambers that receive the steam exhausting from the wheel buckets and after equalizing the presing divided by diaphragme or in a turbine havin separate casmgs for the stages. In

some llistances it will be found desirable to use my invention in connection with. ma-

chineshaving"only a single stage.'

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one of the embodiments of my invention, is shown a'longitudin'al' section of a multi-stage turbine. i i.

`1 indicates the casing, which is provided with 'a head 2 and a base, not shown. Formed on the inside of the casing are shoulv ders 3 for supporting the diaphragme 4, the

phere, or

latter dividing the casing into ywheel compartments or stages. y The bucket Wheels 5 are mounted upon the4 upright shaft 6. v Each .bucket wheel 1s provided with two rows'of buckets 7, between'which are more or4 less complete rows ofintermediat'e buckets 8. Located abovxJ the rs't stage Wheelis anannular 'plate '9, conforming in shape to theV wheel-Web and the buckets attached thereto. It is provided with a hub-like extension l0,

which makes a close tit with the annular bore of the head 2. Situated abovethe extension 10 and surrounding the main shaft is a packing 11 to prevent the escape of steam from Vthe first Wheel compartment to the atmostheentrance of air to the first stage when the latter'isworking low the atmosphere. The plate 9. is supported at the outer end y a series of projections 1,42 formed on the head2. Owing to the fact that these projections are not continuous, steam in the main compartment or chamber 13` has access to the space-above it. Situated below the Wheel is an' annular late 14 that conforms in 'shape to that o *the Wheel-Web and the buckets affixed thereto.

This plate is supported by a series of small rojectio'ns 15 at a pointkne'ar the shaft, and ya series o f projectiohsl ,at a oint near the periphery. Steam from the c amber 13 has access 5to the space below the plate. Since the spaces above and below the plates 9 'and .14.'are in free communication with the annularchainberl they all'constitu'te in ef-v fect -one chamber. Mounted in the upper diaphragm is a packing sleeve 17 that is free tomove in a plane perpendicularto the shaft, for the purpose ofad'ustment. Itis held-in place by a ring 18 ocated above it. The packing sleeve 1 7 is so arra i jects into the cylindrical portion ofthe u late 9 of the second sta e, and since the cy' ndrical extension 10 o the plate makesa close it withthe bore of the dia hragm,it follows that any steamileakin tliiough the clearance will pass to the auXi iary chamber 19, which is formed by thestationary plate and the revolving wheel. In order to equalize tliepressures on the opposite sides of the Wheel, and to permit the super-heated .or dry steam leaking from the packing to act on both sides of the Wheel,v passa esl 20 are provided that extend through t ,e wheel-Web. The position 'of these passages is immaterial, so long as -theabove effect'is obtained. The

construction and arrangement of the plates and the Wheels inV the the same, and hence, further descriptionis succeeding stages are unnecessary.

,"-. In the event of it being desirable to supply Huid-to the auxiliary chamber 19 on the upper side o'f the first stagewheel at a tempera- ,ture above that inthe main chamber 13, a

pi e21is rovided, containing a throttleva ve 22, vv ich connects the valve-chest 2.3

at a pressure be with the annular s ace communicating with the' auxiliary chamberl 19. 1

' Steam is admitted to the tubine by valves in therchest 23 and asses through the nozzles124 tothe first w eel.' After exhausting 0in the wheel the steam chamber' 13 and flows throughthe'second the steam finally passing by the exhaust conduit either to the atmospherecr -to a condenser..

I' have described-my invention in connection with a vertical-shaft' turbine of'thc'Curtis type, but it is to b e understood that the invention is4 capable ot wider application.

In accordance with the provisions of the @patent statutes, I have described the prinu ciple of operation of my invention, together with the a paratus'which I now. consider-to .re resent tlhe best embodiment thereof; but

esire to have it understoodthat the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the `invention can be 'carried out b other means. vWhat I claim as new, and esire to 'secure 1. In an elastic iuid turbine, the combination of a bucket Wheel, a casing therefor containingya main chamber. for the Wheel, ad-

tion' of a bucket Wheel, a casing therefor con` taining a main chamber for the wheel, admission and exhaust conduits, stationary turbine, the combinaJ tion of a bucket Wheel,

a casing therefor convsion and exhaust conduits, a plate located oning to forman auxilia ent of the main Wheel for introducing a iuid into the auxiliary the iluid passing` throu hthe buckets 4and contained in the main-c amber for the pur pose of reducing rotation losses. 4. In an elastic fluid turbine, tion ret a casing', adiaphragm dividing the l casingv into main Wheel chambers, bucket Wheels mounted therein, walls situated on both sides of' the forming in shape thereto to form auxiliary enters the annular by Letters Patentof the United States, is,`*.

mission and exhaust conduits, stationaryV l2. In an elastic fluid turbine,l the combina/ lWalls located adjacent to thel sides `of the fluid into the taining a main chamber for the Wheel, admis-I 'the combina-I Wheels approximately constage. nozzles, Where the action is repeated,

one side ofthe Wheel and carried by the caschamber m'd'epends' c amber, and a means chamber Whose temperature is above that of j ias chambers that are independent ofthe wheel chambers, a packing betweenthe diaphragm and the rotating member ofthe maehine, which is so arranged that the' leakage therefrom passes to the auxiliary chamber to reduce rotation losses, and admission and exhaust conduits. l

5. In anelastic fluid turbine, the 'combina` tion of a' easing, diaphragms dividing Ithe eas'in intov main Wheel chambers, buckets Whee s'mounted therein, lates mounted in the chambers and situate on ov posite sides of the Wheels and 'separated t ereroni byI vwhich passes through t e auxiliary chambers to reduce rotation losses and thence passes to the main chambers.

In Witness whereof, I have 'hereunto set vmy hand this Sthf day of June, 1907.

l l CHARLES P. STEINMETZ. Witnesses v BENJAMiN B. HULL,

MARGARET E. WOOLLEY, 

